The 5G Automotive Association corrected its proposed rules for cellular vehicle-to-everything in 30 MHz of the 5.9 GHz band. Among the changes, “delete in its entirety subsection (b) in 5GAA’s proposed rule section 95.3167 and make any necessary conforming edits,” the group said in a filing posted Thursday in docket 19-138: “This subsection is unnecessary because 5GAA proposed an on board unit transmit power limit based only on effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) levels.” NCTA, meanwhile, countered a July Ford Motor report on the threat from Wi-Fi in part of the band to intelligent transportation systems (see 2007140057). The report “does not contain any new test results or analysis of existing data,” NCTA said: “Instead, the Ford Submission … repackages its previous ineffective advocacy with new mistaken assertions.”
The FCC 2.5 GHz tribal priority window closed Wednesday as scheduled with more than 400 applications, the agency said Thursday. It has been under pressure to extend by six months the window, which opened Feb. 3, but granted only a 30-day extension. As of July 31, the FCC said 229 applications had been submitted, with 55 more in the pipeline. “Tribes showed tremendous interest in the 2.5 GHz band over the past several months, and I am pleased by the large number of applications the Commission has received,” said Chairman Ajit Pai: “We are now a step closer to enabling Tribal entities to obtain this spectrum for free and quickly put it to use to bring service to rural Tribal lands.” Public Knowledge urged the FCC to open a new window. “For Tribes, closing the window before the end of the pandemic is a slap in the face that will prevent their communities from accessing the vital connections they need to engage in daily life,” PK said.
Comments are due Oct. 2, replies Oct. 19, in docket 20-221 on proposed changes to FCC ex parte rules, per a notice in Wednesday's Federal Register. Under the NPRM adopted in July (see 2007100034), exemptions would include some government-to-government consultations between it and federally recognized tribal nations and communications with certain program administrators such as the toll-free numbering and reassigned numbers database administrators. The FCC also seeks comment on requiring that all written ex parte presentations be submitted before the sunshine period and replies to them be filed within the first day of that period.
There were 133,195 subscribers reported out of service in the portions of Louisiana and Texas affected by tropical storms Laura and Marco and covered by the FCC’s disaster information reporting system, said Wednesday’s DIRS report. That’s a decrease from the 157,337 reported Tuesday (see 2008310044). The new report shows 7.7% of cellsites down in the affected area, down from 9%. One Louisiana public service answering point continues to reroute 911 calls. KBCA Alexandria, Louisiana, is down, along with 14 FM stations and three AMs.
The FCC proposed a $163,912 fine, the maximum allowed, against BarrierFree 4-1 Wednesday for allegedly reporting inaccurate data that “significantly inflated its broadband subscription numbers, failing to file required deployment data, making false statements to Commission investigators, and failing to respond to other inquiries.” The company reported in three filings “vastly more broadband subscribers than there were housing units in the Suffolk County, New York, census tracts where it reported providing service,” said a news release: BarrierFree “apparently failed to submit its March 2019 broadband deployment data Form 477 filing, provide accurate responses to Letters of Inquiry issued by the Commission’s Enforcement Bureau during the course of its investigation, and fully respond to those Letters of Inquiry.” Partially dissenting Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel asked why the FCC took so long to clamp down on the ISP, since it had apparently failed to file the required form 27 different times. “For too long the FCC has fumbled efforts to fix its broadband data and put off initiatives to improve its maps, making it more difficult to close the digital divide -- both during this pandemic and beyond,” she said: “Regrettably, today’s enforcement action is another episode in this continuing mess.” The proposed fine is too small, though all the law allows, said Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, voting to concur with the action. The case points to the need for “robust verification and challenge processes,” he said: “The forfeiture proposed here cannot be … severe enough to adequately address the harm BarrierFree caused and deter future violations.” The provider didn't comment.
NTIA’s petition for an FCC rulemaking on Communications Decency Act Section 230 “lacks a legitimate legal basis” and would “cause serious harm to company moderation efforts,” Internet Association Deputy General Counsel Elizabeth Banker told reporters Tuesday (see 2008120050). Content moderation protects consumers, and reasonable people want platforms to take action like “removing promotion of suicide, plans for bombs and other dangerous materials, or 419 scams,” she said. The FCC lacks “authority to implement this rule under both First Amendment case law and administrative law precedent,” she added. Comments on the petition are due Wednesday.
Moving T-band incumbents to other bands could cost $5.9 billion or more, more than an auction of the frequencies would raise, Los Angeles County told the FCC. Like other commenters in docket 13-42, LA hopes Congress rescinds a requirement the systems move. In the Los Angeles area, the projected cost of relocation is $857.3 million, and that's “merely a conservative estimate based upon a number of assumptions which can vary significantly depending upon the spectrum chosen,” the county said. The New York Police Department estimates at least $1.5 billion to move its operations. “The lack of an identified spectrum band that public safety T-Band licensees will migrate to, creates uncertainty which increases the projected migration time and cost,” the department said. “A public safety T Band licensee may consider purchasing multiband radios to mitigate this risk. However, doing so increases costs. If the spectrum band chosen is significantly higher than T- Band more sites will be required to achieve the same coverage, particularly in-building.” The destination bands for relocated licensees haven't been determined, APCO said: “Without knowing whether spectrum is available, it’s impossible to know for sure what the ultimate relocation costs will be. ... Even if the relocation costs are fully covered, public safety agencies will still endure the distraction of changing equipment and troubleshooting new systems during an ongoing public health crisis that is straining operations and budgets.” Comments were due Monday.
The FCC deactivated the disaster information reporting system for most of the 19 states in the area affected by storms Laura and Marco, said public notices through Monday. The system remains active for 35 counties in Louisiana and three in Texas, said Monday’s PN. “The areas of greatest challenge remain in [Louisiana's] Lake Charles, Sulphur, Shreveport, and the coastal markets,” said Verizon. Monday’s DIRS report showed 5.2 percent of cellsites down in the affected area, and one Louisiana public service answering point rerouting 911 calls. Two TV stations and 18 FMs are out of service in the affected area, along with 188,985 cable and wireline subscribers. A Wireline Bureau order temporarily waived the agency’s phone number aging rule, to allow quick reassignment of numbers in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and Arkansas. The waiver took effect immediately, and will expire May 28, the order said. It will also apply in other areas for which a state of emergency due to the storms is declared, the order said. “We also encourage all service providers in the areas affected by Hurricane Laura to waive call forwarding, message center, and voicemail service charges for affected customers.”
The Wireless Bureau denied ACA Connects' request for a stay on the C-band lump sum election deadline (see 2008140033). By saying the stay would give the FCC more time to revise the lump sum payments amount, ACA is assuming, without proof, the agency or court will side with it on the amount issue, said Monday’s order. It rejected ACA arguments that integrated receivers/decoders should have been included. The cable association didn't immediately comment. ACA also saw wireless and satellite interests opposed to its ask that the FCC review its C-band final cost catalog (see 2008170003), in docket 18-122 postings Monday. ACA's disagreement "does not warrant a reversal of the lump sum determination," and changing the lump sum amounts now could delay the accelerated transition, Intelsat said. SES said the cost catalog reflects the Wireless Bureau "reasonably exercis[ing] its discretion," and the underlying methodology and assumptions were fully explained. AT&T said ACA's argument isn't about fair treatment but about trying to get C-band licensees to cover big costs of a technology transition for earth station operators, even though that doesn't promote the FCC goal of a fast, seamless move. Verizon agreed ACA is trying to turn the spectrum proceeding "into a fiber subsidy plan for its members, or at least maximize their opportunity to profit from the relocation." CTIA also commented. Discovery, Disney, Fox and ViacomCBS said the bureau sensibly excluded costs of integrated receiver/decoder equipment from lump sum payments by concluding that's an expense for transitioning satellite operators, but installing them is a cost for moving earth stations. CenturyLink backed ACA, saying staff "clearly erred" by excluding integrated receiver/decoder costs.
The FCC intends to “finalize new rules … later this year” to allow TV white spaces devices to operate with higher power in less-congested areas, Chairman Ajit Pai told House Communications Subcommittee Vice Chair Doris Matsui, D-Calif., and 13 other lawmakers in letters released Monday. Microsoft and others urged the FCC to act on TVWS, though there was opposition (see 2006030023). Matsui and the other lawmakers supported the NPRM in their June letter to Pai. “Our proposals will expand broadband availability for more rural Americans,” Pai said. “I also agree with your assessment that the current [COVID-19] pandemic has put our need for spectrum in sharp relief.” The spectrum that TVWS devices operate in “allows for the delivery of services over relatively longer distances and is better suited to deal with variations of terrain,” Pai said. “This makes it more attractive for providing broadband in rural and remote areas. The devices operate on an unlicensed basis, reducing barriers to entry.”